Parthiv leads Gujarat from trouble to strength

Parthiv Patel's massive century led Gujarat to a commanding score on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore. Coming in with his side in trouble at 30 for 2, Parthiv batted aggressively and formed the mainstay of substantial partnerships for subsequent wickets.

Parthiv added 133 with Niraj Patel, 87 with Venugopal Rao and 48 with Manprit Juneja before falling to Jalaj Saxena in the 81st over. He had batted 205 balls for 162 runs and hit 26 fours. Juneja remained unbeaten on 42 at stumps, as Gujarat ended on 327 for 4. Anand Rajan took 2 for 67 for Madhya Pradesh.

All five of Hyderabad's top-order batsmen made starts but only Akshath Reddy converted it into a half-century, as the hosts Punjab struck at regular intervals to take the upper hand on the first day in Mohali. Medium-pacers Manpreet Gony and Amitoze Singh took three wickets each while conceding less than three runs per over.

Punjab had a solid start after winning the toss, with their openers adding 77 before Ravi Teja was dismissed by Amitoze. Sandeep Sharma then dismissed his fellow Under-19 World Cup winner Hanuma Vihari to break a second-wicket stand of 59. Gony had Reddy caught behind in the next over, reducing Hyderabad to 138 for 3, after which Amitoze struck with consecutive deliveries, dismissing VVS Laxman and Syed Quadi in the 62nd over.

So while Punjab had a satisfactory day overall, their captain didn't fare as well. Harbhajan Singh, who was left-out of India's Test squad, took 0 for 39 in 20 overs.

The poor light in Kolkata allowed only 59 overs to be bowled on the opening day between the hosts Bengal and the champions Rajasthan at Eden Gardens. During that time, Bengal laid the platform for a solid first-innings score, but their advantage was weakened by two late wickets.

The hosts lost Jayojit Basu, dismissed for 6 for Pankaj Singh, early after choosing to bat, but the other opener Subhomoy Das anchored the innings. He added 68 runs with Writam Porel for the second wicket, and 95 with his captain Manoj Tiwary for the third. Bengal had progressed to 169 for 2 when Tiwary was dismissed by Madhur Khatri for 47. Seven runs later, they lost Das for 95, unlucky to be given lbw to a delivery from Pankaj that was missing leg stump. Pankaj took 3 for 30 and was economical too, conceding only 1.76 runs an over.

The start of the Ranji Trophy has rarely been under such scrutiny. The return of India's star players to their domestic sides has been the biggest draw for fans, but not too far behind are those players possibly competing for a place in the Test squad during a long home season. At the Wankhede Stadium, Sachin Tendulkar batted with comfort, assuredness and ultimately supreme confidence to give a disappointingly small crowd of a few hundred spectators the performance they'd come to watch. Click here to read the full report.

Based on recent performance, form and fitness the team for 1st teat should be
Dhawan, Rahane, Pujara,Tendulkar,Kohli(C),Yuvraj,Parthiv,R. Ashwin, Z. Khan, P. Ojha, Umesh Yadav
Sehwag and Gambhir desreve to be droped now but must they equally deserve to copme back to team if they score couple of centuries in this Ranji season.
Dhoni anyways doesnnt want to play test cricket after 2013 so why not plan for future now. Anyways he is showing lack of intent for first class cricket by not playing in Ranji giving lame excuses of cough and cold.
Look at Sachin, he was having stomach bug yet he played and palyed really well.

pushkar
on November 2, 2012, 16:02 GMT

Why did Yuvraj not play this match? Is he tired? Is he unfit? How can he play tests if he misses Ranji games?

Dummy4
on November 2, 2012, 14:25 GMT

sachin always rockzzzzzzzzzzz thats our master

Aritra
on November 2, 2012, 14:10 GMT

In Test maches, Parthiv is better than any wicket-keeper batsman in India.

He can bat as well as opening batsman. He should get chance in Indian Test team rather than one day team.

Mandar
on November 2, 2012, 23:04 GMT

Based on recent performance, form and fitness the team for 1st teat should be
Dhawan, Rahane, Pujara,Tendulkar,Kohli(C),Yuvraj,Parthiv,R. Ashwin, Z. Khan, P. Ojha, Umesh Yadav
Sehwag and Gambhir desreve to be droped now but must they equally deserve to copme back to team if they score couple of centuries in this Ranji season.
Dhoni anyways doesnnt want to play test cricket after 2013 so why not plan for future now. Anyways he is showing lack of intent for first class cricket by not playing in Ranji giving lame excuses of cough and cold.
Look at Sachin, he was having stomach bug yet he played and palyed really well.

pushkar
on November 2, 2012, 16:02 GMT

Why did Yuvraj not play this match? Is he tired? Is he unfit? How can he play tests if he misses Ranji games?

Dummy4
on November 2, 2012, 14:25 GMT

sachin always rockzzzzzzzzzzz thats our master

Aritra
on November 2, 2012, 14:10 GMT

In Test maches, Parthiv is better than any wicket-keeper batsman in India.

He can bat as well as opening batsman. He should get chance in Indian Test team rather than one day team.

No featured comments at the moment.

Aritra
on November 2, 2012, 14:10 GMT

In Test maches, Parthiv is better than any wicket-keeper batsman in India.

He can bat as well as opening batsman. He should get chance in Indian Test team rather than one day team.

Dummy4
on November 2, 2012, 14:25 GMT

sachin always rockzzzzzzzzzzz thats our master

pushkar
on November 2, 2012, 16:02 GMT

Why did Yuvraj not play this match? Is he tired? Is he unfit? How can he play tests if he misses Ranji games?

Mandar
on November 2, 2012, 23:04 GMT

Based on recent performance, form and fitness the team for 1st teat should be
Dhawan, Rahane, Pujara,Tendulkar,Kohli(C),Yuvraj,Parthiv,R. Ashwin, Z. Khan, P. Ojha, Umesh Yadav
Sehwag and Gambhir desreve to be droped now but must they equally deserve to copme back to team if they score couple of centuries in this Ranji season.
Dhoni anyways doesnnt want to play test cricket after 2013 so why not plan for future now. Anyways he is showing lack of intent for first class cricket by not playing in Ranji giving lame excuses of cough and cold.
Look at Sachin, he was having stomach bug yet he played and palyed really well.

ABOUT COOKIES

We use cookies to help make this website better, to improve our services and for advertising purposes. You can learn more about our use of cookies and change your browser settings in order to avoid cookies by clicking here. Otherwise, we'll assume you are OK to continue.